SOME 2020 VISION: Inter Miami CF to start in MLS next year

MIAMI – Inter Miami CF announced Thursday that it will begin playing in Major League Soccer in 2020.

The club will call Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale home for two years, after co-owners Jorge Mas and David Beckham visited the stadium in the afternoon.

On Jan. 28, Inter Miami has committed to privately fund the design, development construction and operation of a state-of-the-art sports complex that will contain a soccer training facility, an 18,000-seat stadium as well as several community facilities across the site.

“Our ownership group has spent months carefully discussing venue options to launch Inter Miami CF’s inaugural season in MLS, while we build Miami Freedom Park,” Mas said. “Ultimately we decided to expand our vision for the Fort Lauderdale project to launch our first two seasons in the League the right way. Our goal is to provide fans with the most captivating soccer atmosphere and gameday experience, and we did not believe this would be possible at the venues we evaluated.”

The club’s investment in the project also will include the funding of a free public park and soccer fields for the community. The vision for this complex is to incorporate other events, such as high school sports, concerts, gatherings and assemblies.

Inter Miami plans to have Lockhart serve as its training facility and home to its United Soccer League Division II team and its eight Academy teams.

About The Author

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered eight World Cups, seven Olympics and all 21 MLS Cups. He writes about New York City FC, New York Cosmos and the U.S. national team for Newsday and pens a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has two more in the works, including one about the Rochester Lancers.